The crisis was temporarily averted. Once they passed through the shark area, they would be safe.
But now, they were about to face huge, surging waves on the sea.
Now, everyone was too busy holding onto the raft to keep rowing. They pressed the oars under their bodies, clinging tightly to the bamboo raft with their legs, and gripped the bamboo stalks with their hands.
Tang Xiaoguo couldn't help but complain, "Why are the waves so big?!"
Lin Qianqian looked up, "The weather looks pretty good. What's going on?"
Jiang Yao said, "Don't tell me, Xiaoguo, that you took a dump out here and now Poseidon or the Dragon Kings of the Eastern Seas feel insulted?"
Tang Xiaoguo yelled, "Humph! They should feel honored!"
"Something's not right!" Lu Zhe pondered for a moment, and suddenly realized something.
"That's it. September 12th. The seventeenth day of the eighth lunar month!"
Tang Xiaoguo was shocked, "What? We missed the Mid-Autumn Festival?!"
"Is that the point?"
"Then what is?"
Lin Qianqian said, "During these days, the sun and moon are at opposite ends of the earth. Sunlight shines directly onto the moon's front side. Also because of the 0 degree angle between the ecliptic and celestial equator, the sunlight cannot be blocked. All the light is aimed at the earth, making the moon look especially big and round!"
"Wow Qianqian, so professional... But wait, that's not the main point either!"
Lu Zhe said, "But you're thinking in the right direction. During this time, the moon's gravitational pull on the tides is strongest, which makes it easier to produce surges. The Qiantang River tide happens around this time every year. So it's not that strange we encountered big waves now."
Jiang Yao said, "No wonder the waves have felt quite strong the past few days despite little wind..."
As she spoke, another wave crashed over them, frightening Jiang Yao into screaming again.
If Lu Zhe hadn't put an arm around her waist, Jiang Yao would have likely fallen into the sea.
Lu Zhe yelled, "Everyone stop rowing! Focus all your energy on holding onto the raft. Don't fall into the water no matter what!"
"Got it..."
"Whoosh... Whoosh..."
The waves kept pounding them ceaselessly. If they hadn't clung to the plane raft like riding a horse, they might have been thrown off.
Now, Lu Zhe squeezed the raft between his legs. He felt this was far more thrilling than horseback riding.
Because of the giant waves, they couldn't row anymore. Their plane raft was pulled by some unknown ocean current southeast!
That was the opposite direction of Volcano Island!
Lu Zhe knew that if this continued, they would drift farther and farther from home until they ended up who knows where.
But was there anything they could do about it now?
There really wasn't.
After calm analysis, the top priority was getting everyone to survive. They had to resist falling into despair from this uncontrollable situation. Keeping a positive mentality was most important.
So whether or not they could go home wasn't something to bring up now.
Only by staying alive could they have a chance of reuniting with their companions.
"Hold tight to the raft. Surviving is most important. After we get through this wind and waves, we'll row back!"
The four clung to the bamboo raft, waiting for the waves to weaken.
But they didn't.
This gale lasted a full five hours!
For five hours they just lay plastered against the plane raft, drifting along.
Around three thirty in the afternoon, the waves finally started subsiding.
When Lu Zhe tried to turn them around, he discovered the sea surface was empty all around!
The big bright sun shone on the undulating sea. They were stranded in this endless ocean, with no land in sight for miles.
"Where did our Volcano Island go?" Jiang Yao asked.
"Don't know," Tang Xiaoguo replied.
"Where is this place?" Qianqian asked.
Lu Zhe didn't say anything.
To be honest, he didn't know either.
Jiang Yao said anxiously, "We couldn't have drifted all the way into the Pacific Ocean!"
Lu Zhe knew that while Jiang Yao was exaggerating out of emotion, it wasn't entirely impossible.
In his mind he calculated.
They had drifted southwest the whole time, at about 1-2 meters per second over 5 hours. It was highly likely they were now over thirty kilometers away from their original location!
And without any point of reference during the drift, Lu Zhe didn't know their exact speed either.
What should they do now?
Just let themselves and three girls drift aimlessly on the ocean?
That would lead to death eventually right?
"What do we do, Lu Zhe..."
"Sis Mu and Captain will be so worried..."
The girls' voices carried tinges of crying.
"Everyone calm down first. Qianqian, observe our surroundings for any islands we can land on or ships."
Hearing Lu Zhe say this, Qianqian felt like she had a backbone. She nodded and started scanning their environment through her glasses.
"Yao Yao, Xiaoguo, take stock of our current supplies."
Jiang Yao and Xiaoguo nodded. "What about you?"
"I'll dive into the water to check its depth, and see if there's a spot we can anchor."
Saying so, Lu Zhe put on his swim goggles, took out a coil of rope with one end tied to the plane raft, grabbed the other end and jumped into the sea.
There were many fish down there, including tuna, sauries, sea breams and more. As long as they caught fish, they could obtain necessary proteins and energy in the short term.
Only fresh water was a problem.
Lu Zhe kept diving until over seventy meters, but still couldn't see the seabed.
This showed how terrifyingly deep this part of the ocean was.
If he went any deeper, his rope wouldn't be long enough.
Lu Zhe was also feeling thirsty now, so he hurried back up.
"Hey, did you find anything?"
Lu Zhe shook his head. "The waters here run too deep. No continental shelves nearby either, so we can't anchor. How about you guys?"
Qianqian shook her head. "I didn't see anything!"
Jiang Yao said, "We originally each carried a backpack. Yours and Xiaoguo's got snatched away by the Giant King Octopus. There's just mine and Qianqian's left."
"For food there's half a bottle of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, a small bottle of honey, two lemons, that's it."
"Fresh water... there's just two bottles left. One regular bottle of drinking water, the other is Qianqian's... you know..."